So the 7th level PC's are engaged in an epic battle with a BBEG at the top floor of a clock tower. The floor is very old and brittle and the wizard keeps blowing holes in it with lightning bolt trying to get the BBEG to fall into them (good strategy). The floor is 180 feet above the ground floor so it would be quite a fall. However, what I and the entire group forgot is that there is one floor below them before the free fall would occur. That floor is only 20 feet below the one above it which would mean that the monk and the BBEG only fall a very short distance.
The monk grapples the BBEG and in a selfless act, he pulls it through the hole, thinking that he is sacrificing himself in order to end the reign of this creature. Awesome.
HOWEVER. . . it is at this moment that one of the players remembers that there's one floor below them before you get to the free fall. I forgot, everyone forgot except for this player.
So how do I adjudicate this given the fact that I completely forgot THE STRUCTURE OF MY OWN BUILDING? I mean the wizard was spending actions to pursue this great strategy and everyone was working together to see it through and I completely botched it.
What do I do? I feel like such a jackass as it really robbed the night of its climactic ending (I was going to leave those two in free fall and end the session there).
Any help would be hugely appreciated, thanks!
TL;DR: I forgot a detail that robbed the PC's of an epic series of actions within combat. How to I adjudicate after a major screw up on my part?
That's hilarious. Well, what is there to adjudicate? Did you tell the wizard to burn slots casting lightning bolt? Did you tell the monk that he could clearly see the 180 foot drop? If not, they had a plan but it didn't work.
If yes, say the lightning bolts damaged that floor as well, let the BBEG stand up and monologue for a second and then that floor collapses too.
What was on this forgotten floor? Anything that could be useful? Like everyone's bummed out that he didn't fall to his death, but oh, wait, this is the floor with all the leaky propane tanks!
What's up above them? Can the wizard cut the bell rope and have a 2-ton bell fall on top of the guy and then he and it crash through the floor 160 feet to their doom?
Thanks for the quick reply, TimCurtin. Yeah, it's pretty ridiculous because we did ALL forget. What I did forget to mention above is that at one point I did say that they could see nothing but blackness after the hole in the floor was blown open, indicating that they could catch a glimpse into the vast, dark emptiness of the building below. However, there's no light in the floor below them so that piece of info doesn't actually derail the whole thing.
The floor below houses the clock itself, lots of weight in gears, so I could say that the impact of their fall is what finally sends the entire thing crashing to the floor below.
Above where the fight was occurring is the roof to the clock tower but earlier they actually were struck by the bell that was cut loose as a trap.
Is there a way to let the dice decide this and, if so, is that the kind of thing that should be done in front of them or not?
Thanks for the reply, Lunali. You're absolutely right, but it's just an angle thing. If the bolt created a hole behind the first hole, it wouldn't be directly under the first one due to where the wizard was standing when he fired it. I tried to make that work in-game but we all realized that the physics were off by enough that we had to come up with another solution.
Memnosyne, that's kind of what I was thinking, good to have backup on that, thanks. Does it feel like I'm going out of my way to make this idea work, though, or does it simply feel like a logical potentiality given the circumstances? I'm a new GM and and definitely want to err on the side of the latter.
Actually, TimCurtin, the bell fell on them when they were much lower making their way up to the top, so it never hit the floor in question. Good idea, though, and I sure wish it had! And unfortunately the lightning never hit the this floor because of the angle at which it was fired from above.
Not trying to shoot down good ideas, just trying to create a solution which will satisfy their thirst for a sense of realism (yep, the game is high fantasy but the campaign is pretty low magic. The wizard is a bit of an anomaly, for ex.).
Actually, TimCurtin, the bell fell on them when they were much lower making their way up to the top, so it never hit the floor in question. Good idea, though, and I sure wish it had! And unfortunately the lightning never hit the this floor because of the angle at which it was fired from above.
If the bell almost hit them, then there should be gaping holes in all the floors no?
The lightning bolts blew away main support beams, the place is old and brittle already right?
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"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
Lightning Bolt has a 100' range, it is entirely reasonable for it to blow holes in the floor below as well.
I would vote for this one.
The thing is, if the wizard had remembered there was a floor 20' below, he wouldn't have bothered to do what he did. Same with the monk. If the DM had remembered, he'd have reminded the players, "there is another floor right below you." Everyone forgot this fact, until the last minute... well, you can't replay the scene (or shouldn't) but you shouldn't all punish yourselves for having imperfect memories and turning a really good dramatic moment into a goof.
I would say, the floor is so weakened that they hit it, and it immediately collapses and falls another 160 feet (the remainder). Take the 20' fall damage, followed immediately by the 160' fall damage. It's not quite 180' damage but darn close. And it achieves the purpose without breaking the verisimilitude of the world.
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WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
I would go with having the BBEG landing on the second, laughing and saying that the adventurers failed, and then having the already weakened floor collapse beneath their feet.
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A fool pulls the leaves. A brute chops the trunk. A sage digs the roots.
I would go with having the BBEG landing on the second, laughing and saying that the adventurers failed, and then having the already weakened floor collapse beneath their feet.
This is a true BBEG overconfidence trope that would work so perfectly well for the players to enjoy. Maybe give the monk a chance to notice (Perception check) that the floor is breaking so he can jump off the BBEG before the floor collapsed under them. Or give the monk a chance to give one last response to the BBEG "I noticed a hole in your plans." and floor breaks.
These are all fantastic ideas and very much appreciated, thanks! And thanks, BioWizard, for reminding me not to beat myself up about it. It's a game after all.
Love the potential for a catchphrase opportunity, BKThomson. The monk is actually the catchphrase addict in the group so it works out perfectly.
Think I'm going to let the dice determine if they bust through the weakened floor, either while they're fighting in the clockworks or on their initial impact.
Many thanks again to all, really great community here!
I would go with having the BBEG landing on the second, laughing and saying that the adventurers failed, and then having the already weakened floor collapse beneath their feet.
Love this!
You could have the floor creak right before it collapses, giving the monk a chance to...oh wait, BK beat me to it! Like, by a lot.
I would go with having the BBEG landing on the second, laughing and saying that the adventurers failed, and then having the already weakened floor collapse beneath their feet.
Love this!
You could have the floor creak right before it collapses, giving the monk a chance to...oh wait, BK beat me to it! Like, by a lot.
It really is such a perfect setup for the closing battle I really hope it plays out at well as we think it should!
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So the 7th level PC's are engaged in an epic battle with a BBEG at the top floor of a clock tower. The floor is very old and brittle and the wizard keeps blowing holes in it with lightning bolt trying to get the BBEG to fall into them (good strategy). The floor is 180 feet above the ground floor so it would be quite a fall. However, what I and the entire group forgot is that there is one floor below them before the free fall would occur. That floor is only 20 feet below the one above it which would mean that the monk and the BBEG only fall a very short distance.
The monk grapples the BBEG and in a selfless act, he pulls it through the hole, thinking that he is sacrificing himself in order to end the reign of this creature. Awesome.
HOWEVER. . . it is at this moment that one of the players remembers that there's one floor below them before you get to the free fall. I forgot, everyone forgot except for this player.
So how do I adjudicate this given the fact that I completely forgot THE STRUCTURE OF MY OWN BUILDING? I mean the wizard was spending actions to pursue this great strategy and everyone was working together to see it through and I completely botched it.
What do I do? I feel like such a jackass as it really robbed the night of its climactic ending (I was going to leave those two in free fall and end the session there).
Any help would be hugely appreciated, thanks!
TL;DR: I forgot a detail that robbed the PC's of an epic series of actions within combat. How to I adjudicate after a major screw up on my part?
That's hilarious. Well, what is there to adjudicate? Did you tell the wizard to burn slots casting lightning bolt? Did you tell the monk that he could clearly see the 180 foot drop? If not, they had a plan but it didn't work.
If yes, say the lightning bolts damaged that floor as well, let the BBEG stand up and monologue for a second and then that floor collapses too.
What was on this forgotten floor? Anything that could be useful? Like everyone's bummed out that he didn't fall to his death, but oh, wait, this is the floor with all the leaky propane tanks!
What's up above them? Can the wizard cut the bell rope and have a 2-ton bell fall on top of the guy and then he and it crash through the floor 160 feet to their doom?
Lightning Bolt has a 100' range, it is entirely reasonable for it to blow holes in the floor below as well.
Thanks for the quick reply, TimCurtin. Yeah, it's pretty ridiculous because we did ALL forget. What I did forget to mention above is that at one point I did say that they could see nothing but blackness after the hole in the floor was blown open, indicating that they could catch a glimpse into the vast, dark emptiness of the building below. However, there's no light in the floor below them so that piece of info doesn't actually derail the whole thing.
The floor below houses the clock itself, lots of weight in gears, so I could say that the impact of their fall is what finally sends the entire thing crashing to the floor below.
Above where the fight was occurring is the roof to the clock tower but earlier they actually were struck by the bell that was cut loose as a trap.
Is there a way to let the dice decide this and, if so, is that the kind of thing that should be done in front of them or not?
Thanks again!
It is worth noting that Fall Damage also damages whatever is hit, so two creatures falling 20 feet would deal at least 4d6 damage to the second floor.
That much damage, in addition to the collapsed chunks from the top floor could easily be enough to break through a brittle floor.
Thanks for the reply, Lunali. You're absolutely right, but it's just an angle thing. If the bolt created a hole behind the first hole, it wouldn't be directly under the first one due to where the wizard was standing when he fired it. I tried to make that work in-game but we all realized that the physics were off by enough that we had to come up with another solution.
Memnosyne, that's kind of what I was thinking, good to have backup on that, thanks. Does it feel like I'm going out of my way to make this idea work, though, or does it simply feel like a logical potentiality given the circumstances? I'm a new GM and and definitely want to err on the side of the latter.
Actually, TimCurtin, the bell fell on them when they were much lower making their way up to the top, so it never hit the floor in question. Good idea, though, and I sure wish it had! And unfortunately the lightning never hit the this floor because of the angle at which it was fired from above.
Not trying to shoot down good ideas, just trying to create a solution which will satisfy their thirst for a sense of realism (yep, the game is high fantasy but the campaign is pretty low magic. The wizard is a bit of an anomaly, for ex.).
Really appreciate the responses, thank you.
If the bell almost hit them, then there should be gaping holes in all the floors no?
The lightning bolts blew away main support beams, the place is old and brittle already right?
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
I would vote for this one.
The thing is, if the wizard had remembered there was a floor 20' below, he wouldn't have bothered to do what he did. Same with the monk. If the DM had remembered, he'd have reminded the players, "there is another floor right below you." Everyone forgot this fact, until the last minute... well, you can't replay the scene (or shouldn't) but you shouldn't all punish yourselves for having imperfect memories and turning a really good dramatic moment into a goof.
I would say, the floor is so weakened that they hit it, and it immediately collapses and falls another 160 feet (the remainder). Take the 20' fall damage, followed immediately by the 160' fall damage. It's not quite 180' damage but darn close. And it achieves the purpose without breaking the verisimilitude of the world.
WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
I would go with having the BBEG landing on the second, laughing and saying that the adventurers failed, and then having the already weakened floor collapse beneath their feet.
A fool pulls the leaves. A brute chops the trunk. A sage digs the roots.
My Improved Lineage System
This is a true BBEG overconfidence trope that would work so perfectly well for the players to enjoy. Maybe give the monk a chance to notice (Perception check) that the floor is breaking so he can jump off the BBEG before the floor collapsed under them. Or give the monk a chance to give one last response to the BBEG "I noticed a hole in your plans." and floor breaks.
These are all fantastic ideas and very much appreciated, thanks! And thanks, BioWizard, for reminding me not to beat myself up about it. It's a game after all.
Love the potential for a catchphrase opportunity, BKThomson. The monk is actually the catchphrase addict in the group so it works out perfectly.
Think I'm going to let the dice determine if they bust through the weakened floor, either while they're fighting in the clockworks or on their initial impact.
Many thanks again to all, really great community here!
Love this!
You could have the floor creak right before it collapses, giving the monk a chance to...oh wait, BK beat me to it! Like, by a lot.
It really is such a perfect setup for the closing battle I really hope it plays out at well as we think it should!